Mervyn King's leaving gifts from Bank of England raise eyebrows

Outgoing governor treated with three separate events, a portrait of himself, a silver napkin holder, and a sculpture of Goethe

A portrait by artist Diana Blakeney of former governor of the Bank of England Sir Mervyn King that he was presented with as a leaving present when he stood down from the role. Photograph: Diana Blakeney/Bank of England/PA

Lord King's departure from the Bank of England was in stark contrast to the austerity he so publicly preached, with more than £23,000 lavished on three separate events and on leaving gifts for the former governor including a portrait of him, a silver napkin holder, and a sculpture of the German writer, Goethe.

The celebrations to mark his retirement raised eyebrows on Wednesday as it emerged that the Bank's court of directors had agreed to foot the bill of almost £12,000 for a reception and two dinners in the week before the arrival of Mark Carney on 1 July.

In addition, King left with a copy of a portrait of him, worth £10,000, by the artist Diana Blakeney. The original now hangs outside Carney's office.

The Bank said all retiring governors receive a copy of their portrait and that the gift of a £597 silver napkin holder was also in line with tradition, since it was a replica of the ones used in the directors' dining room at the Bank.

As a sports addict, King tended to leaven his discourses on monetary policy and inflation targeting with references to Aston Villa, the Ashes and epic battles on the centre court at Wimbledon rather than 18th century writers, but the ex-governor's family told the Bank that a bust of Goethe was what he really wanted.

All retiring governors received a gift of their choice on retirement, and according to the Bank the £2,505 spent on the sculpture was less than the cost of the furniture presented to King's predecessor Edward George.

The spending on King emerged after a freedom of information request by the web portal MSN UK, and irked some Labour MPs in the light of King's strong support for George Osborne's austerity programme and a pension pot worth almost £200,000 a year on the latest estimates.